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Indianapolis Leads Minor League Baseball Attendance For 2016

Victory Field and the Indians ended the 2016 season with the highest overall attendance at 636,888.urlIndianapolis, Indianapolis Indians, Victory Field, Minor League Baseball, attendance, Indians, baseball2016-09-06T00:00:00-04:00

Victory Field and the Indianapolis Indians ended the 2016 season with the highest overall attendance at 636,888.

Doug Jaggers/WFYI

INDIANAPOLIS – For the second time in four seasons, Indianapolis has claimed the top spot in Minor League Baseball attendance.

Of the 160 teams that make up United States-based Minor League Baseball, Victory Field and the Indians ended the 2016 season with the highest overall attendance at 636,888. The Tribe edged International League foe the Charlotte Knights (628,173).

Indianapolis also led MiLB in attendance in 2013, finished runner-up to Charlotte in 2014, and was third last season behind Sacramento and Charlotte.

“An accomplishment like this is a testament to our amazing fans that support Indians baseball year after year and our entire staff that helps create such a wonderful atmosphere at Victory Field. It’s a great recipe for success,” said Randy Lewandowski, Indianapolis Indians general manager.

The fans came out to the ballpark despite some challenges from Mother Nature. The 2016 season featured the seventh wettest and 11th warmest summer on record, according to the National Weather Service. In August, traditionally one of the highest-attended months of the Indians season, Indianapolis recorded the fourth-most rain in that month’s history.

The 2016 season marked the 20th of baseball at the downtown Indianapolis ballpark, and Victory Field surpassed the 12 million fan benchmark. Among minor league teams, only the Buffalo Bisons have had higher attendance since Victory Field opened in 1996.